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Any Canon Pro-100 printer users here?

Nick Batzdorf

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Dear Abby,

The Canon Pro-100 is a great printer that produces beautiful 13 x 19 color prints.

But every time I go to use it, at least one of the cartridges is empty because the ink has evaporated (I use aftermarket cartridges that cost literally 1/8 the price of the Canon ones - $12.50/set of eight rather than $100).

So I up and ordered a CISS (continuous ink supply system) from eBay.

And after reading the instructions, I'm returning it unopened.

1. You have to use chips from a set of cartridges with ink still in them (i.e. that don't report being empty) and glue them onto the ones that come with the CISS. The idea of buying a set just to steal its chips for an untested system... hard no.

2. The system requires that the cover be open, which means you have to rig the switch that senses when the cover is open. That's just janky.

Any ideas for how to stop the damn cartridges from evaporating?

Yours truly,

Stained Fingers
BFE
 
I have two Pro-100s and only use Canon ink. I do no have a problem with ink evaporating, even after prolonged periods of no use.
 
As someone who has to do a LOT of printing, I gave up on recycled cartridges years ago. The quality and longevity issues created more hassles than they were worth.
 
So it's really worth spending the $100 per set of Canon ink - bearing in mind that the quality of the aftermarket ones is fine?

Okay, will have to try it.

Thanks.
 
I use a Canon printer(different model)
Yes theCanon ink is expensive otoh when I tried 3rd party ink the printer didn’t recognize some of the cartridges so I returned the ink to the Amazon vendor.
I don’t print photos so my ink consumption isn’t as prolific as yours might be . I don’t like the cost of Canon ink but I like their printers and they seem to preferCanon ink cartridges.
 
I haven't had any problem with the cartridges, either their being recognized or the quality of the prints - and I do print photos, although they're not traditional prints most of the time, more like putting a lot of paint on the paper - but they do evaporate, as I said.

Well, I have three sets of eight off-brand cartridges coming, so maybe after I go through these I'll think about getting the official ones.
 
A guy I know just emailed to say that you have to take the cartridges out and put the plastic things on them when you're not using it. The ink has alcohol in it, and that's why it evaporates.

Makes perfect sense - except that BassClef says his ink doesn't evaporate. Go figure.
 
I only use the Canon cartridges,I rarely print and the ink doesn’t seem to dry out.
I suspect besides the brand name there’s something about the ink or the construction of the cartridges that prevents drying out and kind of justifies the higher price.
I might use the printer once or twice in a 4 or 5 month period and I haven’t had any cartridges dry out.
 
The rate of evaporation is going to be due to the climate you're keeping the printer in. If you're in a hot, arid climate and go a few weeks without using the printer, it's easy enough to close up the trays and close a trash bag around the printer, which should keep evaporation from taking place.

A guy I know just emailed to say that you have to take the cartridges out and put the plastic things on them when you're not using it. The ink has alcohol in it, and that's why it evaporates.

This would be against Canon's recommendations -- the printhead assembly is extremely delicate, and heavy removal/insertion of ink cartridges could cause more problems. (Such as leaving the ink channels far more exposed to dry out and suffer other kinds of effects.)

There are probably bad-quality aftermarket inks which would give you poor results and possibly higher evaporation, although it doesn't seem like the most likely side effect. However, there are lots of potential issues with using aftermarket cartridges that I'd be concerned with. The most popular alternative among experienced PRO-100 users, if you really don't want to buy replacement OEM ink cartridges, seems to be the refill kit from Precision Colors:

All that being said, I've only had my PRO-100 for a month and haven't run out of ink yet. Fingers crossed.
 
I do print photos, although they're not traditional prints most of the time, more like putting a lot of paint on the paper

I should qualify then, that I don't have much experience printing photos. Mine is usually black ink for music. I found years ago that I couldn't get as good results from recycled cartridges and simply resolved myself to buying original cartridges as a cost of business.
 
All that being said, I've only had my PRO-100 for a month and haven't run out of ink yet. Fingers crossed.

The prints it produces are outstanding, and if you're only using black then it isn't expensive to keep buying Canon cartridges. I think you'll be happy with it.

Refillable cartridges, no thanks. It's annoying enough having to change cartridges.

The rate of evaporation is going to be due to the climate you're keeping the printer in. If you're in a hot, arid climate and go a few weeks without using the printer, it's easy enough to close up the trays and close a trash bag around the printer, which should keep evaporation from taking place.

The climate inside my house is very moderate due to heating and air conditioning. It's not extreme.

But a plastic bag?! I returned the continuous ink system because it was kludgy as hell!
 
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